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Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
10:02

Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Published on: March 12, 2020

Effect of methylphenidate on executive functioning in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder:

Julie B Schweitzer1, Douglas O Lee, Russell B Hanford

  • 1Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. jschweit@mprc.umaryland.edu

Biological Psychiatry
|October 13, 2004
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Prolonged methylphenidate (MPH) treatment improved attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) task performance but did not normalize brain activity. MPH reduced prefrontal cortex blood flow, potentially by enhancing dopamine release.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry
  • Radiology

Background:

  • Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting executive functions.
  • Adult men with ADHD often experience persistent executive dysfunction.
  • The neurobiological underpinnings of ADHD and treatment effects require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of prolonged methylphenidate (MPH) treatment on brain activity related to executive functioning in adult men with ADHD.
  • To compare functional neuroanatomy between ADHD patients and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

  • Positron emission tomography (PET) with [(15)O] water was used to measure regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF).
  • Participants performed the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task and a control task.
  • 10 men with ADHD and 11 healthy controls were scanned before and after 3 weeks of MPH treatment in the ADHD group.

Main Results:

  • MPH improved task performance in ADHD participants.
  • MPH treatment led to reduced rCBF in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and increased rCBF in the right thalamus and precentral gyrus.
  • ADHD participants showed distinct patterns of brain activation, particularly in subcortical regions, compared to controls.

Conclusions:

  • Methylphenidate treatment does not fully normalize task-related brain activity in adult men with ADHD.
  • Reduced PFC activity with MPH may reflect improved filtering of irrelevant stimuli via dopamine.
  • Functional neuroimaging reveals specific alterations in brain activity associated with ADHD and its treatment.

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